Coffee & Flowers
by gloaming grove
Summary: Written for round 2 of the Bleach Romances Fanfiction Contest. AU. Ukitake is a lecturer, Kiyone is one of his assistants. He encounters Kiyone alone one afternoon and realizes she changed while he wasn't looking.


Written for round 2 of the Bleach Romances Fanfiction Contest by Full Shadow Alchemist. Pairing: Ukitake, J. & Kiyone, K.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach; I don't make money from this.

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Jushiro leaned against a walkway pillar, enjoying the smell of heavy rain on newly cut grass. He supposed he should be hurrying back to his faculty office to finish marking the piles of exam sheets waiting for him, but the campus was just so peaceful when the students were gone. The lawn behind the engineering faculty, usually covered with energetic and noisy young men, was empty and silent but for the steady patter of rain. He reached a hand out to catch a few droplets on his palm, careful not to wet the rolled up plans he was carrying, and breathed the damp tangy air in deeply, grateful for his woolen polo-neck jersey. There was a nasty strain of flu going around and he was the last person who needed to catch it.

"Ukitake-sensei!" A female voice carried faintly through the rain, starting him from his reverie.

He looked across the lawn toward the opposite building in time to see Kiyone, one of his assistant lecturers, waving wildly for his attention before she plunged into the rain to run across the lawn. Jushiro smiled fondly at the girl's impulsive action. She could just as easily have used the corridor to reach him and avoided the rain altogether, but instead she chose to get wet. She wasn't even wearing a jersey.

As she drew closer to cover, one of her court shoes slipped slightly on the wet grass, sending her stumbling as she tried to right herself. Jushiro reached out to steady her and narrowly avoided being bowled over in the process.

"Careful! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She looked up at him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. "I'm so sorry! I nearly took you out with me there."

"It's okay, no one was hurt." He raised an eyebrow at her and added teasingly, "Today."

She laughed, chagrined, and glanced back across the lawn. "I suppose I should have just used the corridor."

"Probably. At least then you wouldn't be wet. Where's your jersey? I don't want to lose another assistant to the flu. Sentaro-san called in sick this morning."

Kiyone sniffed. "Weakling. I don't need a jersey, I'm tough." He raised his eyebrows at her and she laughed again. "Okay, so I forgot it in the office. But don't worry, I'm pretty robust. Oh, yes! I nearly forgot. I finished marking the junior class exams; I just dropped them off for moderation, so you don't need to worry about that. You should just concentrate on staying out of the cold and not getting sick."

Jushiro was touched. They always worked so hard, always looking out for him. "Thank you, Kiyone-san."

Flushing at his smile, she stammered, "I…It's my pleasure. Uh, I'm just doing my job!"

The rising wind swept a sheet of rain across the lawn, lifting fine tendrils of Jushiro's hair to brush his face and pull his attention back to the weather. It didn't show any signs of letting up. As attractive and peaceful as it was, they should definitely avoid going out in it.

Jushiro turned to his assistant, concerned. She was staring unseeingly into the rain, expression unreadable. Droplets clung to the fine blonde hairs of her arms and as he watched she brushed them off, rubbing at her goosebumped skin. The water darkened the top layer of her hair and dripped down her neck to disappear under her soaked white blouse, which clung to her skin and bra in a way that was making him distinctly uncomfortable.

She was definitely going to get sick if he kept her here in the cold. He had to get her warmed up.

"Since there's no reason for to return to the office now, let me buy you a cup of coffee."

She stared at him, eyes wide. Noticing her hesitation, he added, "I don't really feel like waiting in the rain for the bus, and I'd appreciate the company."

"Okay, thank you."

"The barista near the drama department should be empty, for a change."

"Sounds good, let's go."

Jushiro opened the coffee-shop door for Kiyone then followed her inside to the counter. A wave of warm coffee-flavored air flowed over him and he breathed it in appreciatively. At Kiyone's recommendation, he ordered a hazelnut latte. He got Lebkuchen for himself and talked her into getting a muffin, and then they chose a table near the window to watch the rain and wait for their order.

At first Kiyone sat fiddling awkwardly with the menu card on the table, listening to the quiet bustle of the coffee-shop, but it didn't take Jushiro long to draw her into a conversation. He was vaguely surprised. He was so used to the yelling and bickering he was subjected to every day that it never occurred to him that she would probably be different without her rival in the picture. She was actually very good company, and it wasn't very often he got to enjoy the company of a woman.

Wait. Woman. She was barely a girl. Wasn't she? How long had it been since she had first walked into his class, wide-eyed and unsure in the crush of hyperactive boys? How long since she proudly shook his hand and received her first degree at graduation; since she decided she wanted to lecture after her masters and fought to become his assistant?

Jushiro was shocked when he figured it out. Nine years. Where had the time gone?

He took a moment to really look at her. Sometime during the years she had been at his side; the unsure girl had disappeared, matured into this self-assured, driven, spontaneous woman; and he hadn't noticed.

He noticed her now. As she moved around the table to his side to discuss the now unrolled plans he had been carrying, the sweet scent of spring flowers teased his nose. She leaned forward to examine some finer details, and he caught a tantalizing glimpse of white lace and smooth curves through the gap between her blouse buttons. Jushiro noticed all too well.

"Kiyone-san."

"Ukitake-sensei…?"

"Don't you think it's time you started calling me Jushiro?"

"Uh, okay, J-Jushiro-san." she looked confused by the sudden change of topic.

"We should do this again sometime."

She stared at him for a long moment, and he could hear the quiet patter of the rain outside in the silence. Then she smiled.

"I'd like that, Jushiro-san."

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**A/N:**

~Lebkuchen are German honey cakes- little rounds of sickly sweet sugary goodness

~The correct term for gooseflesh is skin erection or horripilation. Try working one of those into a story.


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